Cyprus court upholds Hezbollah man's conviction

NICOSIA, Cyprus—The lawyer for an admitted Hezbollah member says a Cyprus appeals court has upheld his client's conviction for helping to plan attacks against Israelis on Cyprus.

Hossam Taleb Yaacoub had denied involvement in plots against Israelis and said he didn't know what the information he collected for the Hezbollah militant group was for. He was found guilty last year on five of eight charges including participation in a criminal organization and handed down a 4-year prison sentence. No Israelis were attacked.

His lawyer, Antonis Georgiades, said Thursday the three-judge appeals ruling came Wednesday. The lone dissenting judge found that the evidence didn't support the charges against the Swedish-Lebanese citizen beyond a reasonable doubt and that his actions didn't prove Hezbollah to be a criminal organization, Georgiades said.